‘I forgot about him’: Michael Chandler dismisses Dustin Poirier fight after UFC 274 win

Michael Chandler has dismissed the idea of fighting Dustin Poirier next, saying he ‘forgot about’ his fellow UFC lightweight contender.

Chandler was a three-time lightweight champion in Bellator before joining the UFC in late 2020. The American made his promotional debut in January 2021, knocking out Dan Hooker in the first round before losing to Charles Oliveira last May with the vacant lightweight title on the line.

Chandler, who had almost stopped Oliveira in the first round, went on to lose a fight of the year contender against Justin Gaethje on points in November. The 36-year-old improved his UFC record to 2-2 last week, however, by knocking out Tony Ferguson in Round 2 with a stunning front kick to the face.

After the fight at UFC 274, Chandler called out the winner of the main event between Oliveira and Gaethje – with the former winning via submission – as well as Conor McGregor.

Chandler’s compatriot Poirier, who last fought in December and was submitted by Oliveira, tweeted this week: “A lot of names being said by Iron Michelangelo but I’m not hearing mine. Respectfully.”

Chandler responded on The MMA Hour, playing down his interest in facing Poirier.

“It would be [Nate] Diaz,” he said, discussing his preferred next opponent. “I have no interest in fighting Dustin honestly.

“To be quite honest, I think he’s a great dude. I think I like him for the sport, but I also think I was completely disregarded and pushed aside whenever I came into the organization. He completely disregarded me, he acted as though I didn’t deserve to be where I was.

“Maybe it’s a bit more of a personal issue, but I also don’t think... is Dustin a draw? I guess he’s the No 2 guy now, but he’s just kind of stayed at No 2 and I don’t know